2 MAKING HORTICULTURE PAY 



as big as my body, and it was so full of poke and 

 bindweed that three years were needed to get the 

 upper hand. But I had my garden — Uncle Sam's 

 garden, rather, this one. Again, in New York 

 state I have had gardens on such steep and stony 

 land that without very careful handling the top soil 

 would journey off to sea whenever there was a 

 rain, and leave nothing but a stone quarry behind, 

 a thing that occurred in spots more than once. 



My plantations have ranged in size from a tenth 

 of an acre to 30 acres, but for downright profit the 

 smaller ones have paid more to the square foot in 

 actual money, not to mention joy and good living, 

 than the big ones ever did. 



If one really desires to have fruit, vegetables, 

 flowers, and attractive home grounds, neither poor 

 soil, nor lack of time, nor hillsides, not stones — 

 nothing can stop him. He'll have it. 



THE FARMER'S OPPORTUNITY 



It is the farmers' and village residents' privilege 

 to enjoy abundance of the best fruit and vegetables, 

 but how many realize it? Taking the country as a 

 whole, very few. Why? Is it because of the cost? 

 Surely not. A first-class orchard and berry patch 

 big enough to supply any family with ample fresh 

 and canned fruit for the year can be bought and 

 planted for $10 to $20, and the annual cost of care 

 should not exceed 20 per cent of the first cost. Five 

 dollars' worth of choice vegetable seeds, properly 

 planted and cared for, will yield a wealth and 

 variety of food that cannot be bought from the 

 huckster for twenty times that amount. They will, 

 moreover, be fresh and ready when wanted, which 

 purchased vegetables not always are. And as to 



